Good Morning, Arizona

We made it. We are currently lounging comfortably in the Grand Canyon State, hanging in our hotel suite with our bikes, wetsuits, tubs of Gatorade Endurance, multiple duffel bags and - most importantly - Starbucks coffees.

Yesterday's drive through the desert went well. Tim and I rocked out to a little Kings of Leon, U2, Dave Matthews and Shaggy (I was able to get only a few Shaggy songs in before Tim shut that down). We waved to other IMAZ participants we passed - the tri bikes latched to their cars were total give-aways.

So now we're here and trying to adjust to Mountain time. In a little while, we'll drive to Tempe Town Lake and take a dip in the 64 degree water. Then we'll drive the bike course. And then I'll work on not freaking out...at this very moment, we're 48 hours away.

I have to share a couple of lines from the Athlete Information Guide that I found, um, a tad humorous, if not downright frightening. Here we go:

1). "Athletes may not make progress on the bike course unaccompanied by their bicycle." All right, Bike, it's you and me for 112 miles. Good thing that's been the plan since the beginning.

2). On the run course - "No form of locomotion other than running, walking or crawling is allowed." Excuse me, crawling? I really hope it doesn't get that bad...

On that note, I need to find some Body Glide. Until next time!

One Week to Go

Oh. My. Goodness! Ironman Arizona is one week away. How in the world did this happen?!

We're heading out on a two hour brick workout soon. Today marks the last day of Taper. Starting tomorrow, we head into Race week and reduce the volume of our workouts even more.

This time next week, we'll be swimming in Tempe Town Lake. Tim's swim plan? To swim around the buoys and finish in a respectable time. My swim plan? Avoid swallowing the detritus in the water.

Tim and I are now talking non-stop about Ironman. A conversation about what to have for dinner invariably turns into a race day nutrition talk. A conversation about getting the car's oil changed morphs into a discussion on race day transitions. We are wholly consumed.

Oh. My. Goodness...

And We're Off...

Now that I'm out of school for the summer, and now that the Tour de France has ended, I'm finding myself with 20 extra minutes in the day. So I've decided to start "Team Middleton," a blog that will document our Ironman-in-training life.

Tim and I are swimming, biking, running and eating our way toward Ironman Arizona on Sunday, November 22nd. With less than four months till D-Day, we're feeling pretty good...and awfully hungry.

"If this were easy, everyone would do it," said pro triathlete Chris McCormack at Kona in 2008. Forget easy, Chris - my mom thinks what we're doing is barbaric. But that's part of the Ironman allure. How hard can you push yourself? How many miles can you bike in four hours and 30 minutes? How fast can you swim 2,500 yards? And, in my case, how many times must you dismount to use the restroom on a Saturday morning ride?

You and I (and Tim) will find out. Because, even though Tim would like nothing more than to fly below the radar, Ironman documentation is a must. We're crazy, we're addicted, we're having the time of our lives, we're buying more Butt Butter and Body Glide and bagels than ever before...and we're looking forward to upping the mileage.

It's way past my bedtime now and we've got an early morning ride. Thanks for reading - talk to you soon.